Abstract

There have been many decisions on the correct or proper third party use of trade marks. In the so-called British law countries the question of licensed use has been the subject of various judicial decisions. The author suggests that the earlier decisions dealing with the protection of the public interest cannot easily be compared with modern day commercial trends and practices. For this reason the author argues that a trade mark owner should be permitted to grant third party users the right to use a trade mark without the actual necessity of making formal application for the recording of the registered user.